As mobile communications technologies and Internet capabilities have matured and in some ways merged, the amount of data traffic over the mobile Internet has increased exponentially. For example, T-MOBILE networks have experienced an increase of 5000% in data traffic since the official launch of ANDROID G1 phones. This trend of increased mobile Internet usage will likely continue in the future, with increasing numbers and usage rates of services and applications.
To support such an increase in data traffic volume, operators have been forced, at great expense, to expand their physical infrastructures to serve their client base. With this, there has been a search for a way in which to minimize the required infrastructure changes and expenses. While the inventors have appreciated that offloading the data traffic to networks that require less infrastructure, such as Wi-Fi, may be possible via dynamic and simultaneous use of both Wi-Fi and cellular (3G/2G) networks, mobile devices traditionally support only one data network access at a given time. Furthermore, energy efficiency and battery life are critical considerations for mobile devices, and wireless data transfer consumes significant energy.
While it may be hypothetically possible to leverage multiple network interfaces by switching or aggregating network flows, such a system would employ or require backend support in the form of a proxy or gateway to combine or forward flows. However, the use of a gateway would entail additional complexity and expense, as it requires an additional network component, and may also impose a significant performance impact. Other possible solutions may require changes to the TCP/IP protocol. This would require modification to both the Internet infrastructure and pre-existing applications and operating systems, rendering any such system impractical for current real-life systems, applications and infrastructures.
Unlike the hypothetical approaches mentioned above, the system described below in certain embodiments presents a novel switching mechanism that can be fully implemented on the client side, and requires no proxy/gateway support, nor support from applications. However, it will be appreciated that the invention as protected is defined by the attached claims, regardless of whether the invention as claimed solves one or more of the noted deficiencies. Moreover, it is expressly noted, and should be fully appreciated by the reader, that the foregoing is not intended to be a survey or description of the prior art. Rather, it is a statement of background ideas set forth by the inventors intended to help the reader understand the following detailed description. As such, this background section provides just that—background information, not prior art information. To the extent prior art information is desired, it must be found in the art and knowledge otherwise available to the public, not in the foregoing.